ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Jellyfish, whip-tailed rays and hunting sharks are some of the ocean dangers that typically worry beachgoers. But the biggest threat is rip currents, which account for most beach rescues each year.
Over the course of two days recently, six people drowned in rip currents in Florida. Among them were a Pennsylvania couple vacationing on Hutchinson Island with their six children and three young men from Alabama vacationing in the Panhandle.
According to the United States Lifesaving Association, about 100 people drown in rip currents on U.S. beaches each year. And more than 80 percent of beach rescues each year are due to rip currents.
The National Weather Service lists 16 known deaths so far in 2024 due to rip currents in U.S. waters, including the deaths in Florida, eight deaths in Puerto Rico and two in Texas.
Here are some things you should know about rip currents:
What is a backwash?
Backwashes are narrow columns of water that flow quickly away from the beach, like a fast current in the ocean. They don’t pull swimmers underwater, but they can carry them a good distance from shore.
Surf rip currents often form in deep spots along the beach or near breakwaters or piers. They can be associated with stormy weather, but sometimes occur on sunny days. They can be difficult to spot because the water surface often appears calm.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the current can reach speeds of up to 3.2 meters per second, faster than even a good swimmer can handle.
“If you get caught in one and try to swim straight in, you’re not going to make it,” said Daniel Barnickel of Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue.
How can you escape a rip current?
The most common advice from beach rescue teams and weather forecasters is not to panic and to look for an opportunity to swim parallel to the shore until the swimmer is out of the grip of the surf current. This will eventually dissipate, but the swimmer could end up in deeper water.
It’s almost impossible to fight the current directly. Many swimmers who get into trouble exhaust themselves trying to return to the beach, lifeguards say. If possible, it’s best to swim near a lifeguard station.
“Most of our rip current rescues occur outside of patrolled areas because we are not on site to prevent these types of incidents,” Barnickel said.
What warning systems are there for backwashes?
Beach visitors are warned of different dangers with flags of different colors.
Three flags warn of surf and current conditions. Red means high danger, yellow means medium threat and green means low danger. There is also purple for dangerous marine life such as jellyfish and double red when a beach is closed for some reason.
The National Weather Service publishes coastal rip current hazards on its websites and has developed a computer model that can predict when conditions are favorable for rip currents to form on the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States, as well as on Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Guam, up to six days in advance.
“Previously, meteorologists manually predicted rip currents across a large portion of the ocean twice a day and only a day or two in advance. The earlier forecast could significantly increase awareness and reduce drowning accidents,” said Gregory Dusek, a NOAA scientist who developed the model, in a post on the agency’s website.
When the drownings occurred last week, high-risk warnings were issued for most of Florida’s beaches.
Should someone attempt a rescue due to a backwash?
Rescuing someone caught in a rip current can be dangerous, officials say, and often rescuers find themselves in trouble.
The best thing to do if you see a swimmer having difficulty is to seek out a lifeguard if there is one or call 911. People on the shore can also tell the person to swim parallel to the shore.
“Never swim alone. And always make sure there is an adult there. And make sure you don’t overestimate your abilities. Know your limits,” said Barnickel.
